Effect of nalbuphine on analgesia and pain factors after gastric cancer resection.

Abstract

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is a prevalent tumor in the digestive system, with around one million new cases reported annually, ranking it as the third most common malignancy. Reducing pain is a key research focus. This study evaluates the effect of nalbuphine on the analgesic effect and the expression of pain factors in patients after radical resection.

Aim: To provide a reference for postoperative analgesia methods.

Methods: One hundred eight patients with GC, admitted between January 2022 and June 2024, underwent radical gastrectomy. They received a controlled analgesia pump and a transverse abdominis muscle plane block, divided into two groups of 54 patients in each group. The control group received sufentanil, while the observation group received nalbuphine as an analgesic. Postoperative analgesic effects, pain factor expression, and adverse effects were compared.

Results: The resting pain and activity pain scores in the observation group at 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours were significantly lower than those in the control group. Additionally, the number of presses and consumption of the observation group at 48 hours were lower than those of the control group; and the response rate of the observation group was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The prostaglandin E2, substance P, and serotonin levels 24 hours after the observation group were lower than those in the control group, and the incidence of adverse reactions was 5.56% lower than 22.22% in the control group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The findings suggest that nalbuphine enhances postoperative multimodal analgesia in patients with radical GC, effectively improving postoperative analgesic effect, relieving postoperative resting and active pain, and reducing postoperative pain factor expression, demonstrating its potential for clinical application.